Conversations on Dependency Theory
PhD Candidate Maria Dyveke Styve has co-edited a newly released e-book that explores the relevance of dependency theory today. Read more and access the e-book here.
![Book cover Dialogues on development](https://www.uib.no/sites/w3.uib.no/files/styles/content_main/public/media/book_cover.jpg?itok=Onr-mlIW×tamp=1579195073)
Main content
Styve is part of a group of young scholars called Young Scholars Initiative (YSI). Interested in how global economic structures and historical conditions influence the political economy of developing countries, they seek to explore what relevance dependency theory can have today. The e-book comprises of 13 interviews with scholars around the world - who express a variety of viewpoints on the meaning and relevance of dependency theory in today’s context.
Can Dependency Theory Explain Our World Today?
As the editors write:
"One of the key tenets of dependency theory is its attention to the role of history and, in particular, the role of colonialism in constructing the positions of different countries within the global economy. Analysis of why a country occupies a certain position within the world economy should therefore begin at the global level. Dependency theorists argue that, beyond the end of formal colonialism, the value transfers of profits have continued to flow from the Global South to the North."
"With the rise of neo-classical economics in the 1980s, dependency theory became marginalised and was ultimately cast aside. This happened despite its popularity in the mid-20th century, particularly in the Global South. Using this collection of interviews with various scholars, we hope to inspire students and academics to revisit the key tenets of dependency theory and consider how some of the original work can be used to examine the persistence of global inequalities today".
Table of Contents
Main chapters and interviewees
1. A Dependency Pioneer - Samir Amin
2. Dependency Theory: Its Enduring Relevance - Adebayo O. Olukoshi
3. The Relevance of Dependent Development Then and Now - Peter Evans
4. Whither Dependency Theory? - Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni
5. The Caribbean Plantation Economy and Dependency Theory - Rex McKenzie
6. A Theoretical Revolution in Time and Space - Ramón Grosfoguel
7. The Informal Empire of London - Andy Higginbottom
8. The Political Economy of Africa and Dependency Theory - Patrick Bond
9. Dependency Theory Today - Miguel Angel Centeno
10. The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same - Ian Taylor
11. Dependency Theory Is Alive in Different Guises - Matías Vernengo
12. Dependency Theory and Chinese Special Economic Zones in Africa - Honita Cowaloosur
13. Varieties of Dependence in Europe - László Bruszt